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Hi there! I was curious as to the ROM developer workflow. I'm somewhat familiar with building AOSP for x86 VMs and have done some skinning and manipulating system apk's ... but I have some other questions:
1. What distinguishes a ROM package from other zip installers, I guess since it is *nix, everything's a file and most ZIPs then just have the files changed?
2. Jokersax makes mention of doing all development on the device itself... What this workflow, just doing a lot of nandroid backups then, or just replacing things on the fly and hoping for the best?
3. What options exist for adapting system level native code, perhaps I guess I'm asking if, for instance, the camera works with Blur stock SBFs, how could one go disassembling the functionality and deriving CM9 compatible packages? Are the drivers that tightly coupled with the UI elements? That would seem impossible to maintain, and say what you want about Motorola, I couldn't imagine this to be the case.
Thanks -ap
Sent from my MB855 using xda app-developers app
antipasto said:
Hi there! I was curious as to the ROM developer workflow. I'm somewhat familiar with building AOSP for x86 VMs and have done some skinning and manipulating system apk's ... but I have some other questions:
1. What distinguishes a ROM package from other zip installers, I guess since it is *nix, everything's a file and most ZIPs then just have the files changed?
2. Jokersax makes mention of doing all development on the device itself... What this workflow, just doing a lot of nandroid backups then, or just replacing things on the fly and hoping for the best?
3. What options exist for adapting system level native code, perhaps I guess I'm asking if, for instance, the camera works with Blur stock SBFs, how could one go disassembling the functionality and deriving CM9 compatible packages? Are the drivers that tightly coupled with the UI elements? That would seem impossible to maintain, and say what you want about Motorola, I couldn't imagine this to be the case.
Thanks -ap
Sent from my MB855 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) You are pretty much correct....and rom can be turned into a simple one file zip or vice versa
2) He actually uses the device along with a build machine. You can do some simple stuff on the device itself, but if you're going to get into decompiling jars or apks, you will need a bot or a PC.
3) Apktool (Linux/Windows) or Android Suite (Windows) will allow you to break down the apks like you are describing. I'm sure you can make a blur apk work with CM9 (obviously app developers on the Play market do manage to make both). I'm not very familiar with Blur/CM7, as I started work on ROMs after ICS had hit, and I really didn't see much real desire to do something that wasn't forward from where my phone was.
Mainly, you can do source work, which you are most likely familiar with the process of.
I do "port" work...taking the framework, apps and some other necessary functionality-related parts and making a new rom for my device with it.
If you are interested in the process, by all means get in touch with me via PM. We are in need of some people to help with a void that has been left by our team member Spleef taking on a second job.
Thank you so much for the extensive reply. I have about a kabillion personal projects, it would be perhaps interesting to ruminate some on the metadevelopment as it were, I do notice that the Cyanogen project seems to have a lot more ability to automate their workflows, it would be cool to try and get more people into those kinds of logistics to help out... Anyway, I'm trying to remain productive, I'm a long time lurker, and I can't bring myself to post unnecessarily to even get to the 10 posts I need to provide feedback in the development forums, but I'll try
I've been really inspired with the Clojure / Java community, especially "Leiningen" and things like Jenkins for continuous integration. Could be cool to try and think at this level, perhaps like a chrooted VM or something that enthusiasts could run to assist in build CPU times, or hell I dunno, this kind of thinking is all pie in the sky and is hell to set up possibly for little gain, although I'm encouraged that Bittorrent is being used a little more here and there perhaps to offload some of the hosting costs. FWIW I have used S3 in my own projects, and for various static sites I have, I've been hard pressed to pass 30 cents a month in hosting costs on S3, but this is all low traffic stuff and there's a lot of options out there with various kinds of advantages and disadvantages.
All in all, thank you all for your continued efforts, especially going into the later part of this year when JB will mature, and the possibility of ICS drivers being integrated. You guys rock!
Well, I’m sure that it isn’t a secret for anyone, CM7 has been and still is my favorite rom for my Defy(s). I’ve been using it since the day Quarx’s brought IP Tables support to it – hence allowing me to use Droidwall as an Android firewall. I could then selectively allow/deny internet access to any installed app [having internet access permission that is…]. This is a first and important security step, but like anything, this has limitations; apps that do ‘really’ need internet access are then free to send (and receive) whatever their Android permissions allow them to get a hand on. For that, CM7 has a neet feature called ‘permissions management’ that allows you to control each app’s permissions individually. This option works fine BUT the problem is that the apps that you control that way often lose functionalities, stop working altogether or even throw you an error message telling you that the app’s permissions have been altered and that you will not be able to use it unless you reset them.
So how to solve this potentially very critical security flaw without losing apps functionality? ==> PDroid.
Thanks to xda user measel, I’ve just recently discovered this wonderful piece of software and I don’t think that my Defy will ever live without it from now on. The app itself is not really a new one and I’ve decided to create this thread to spread to word around and in the hope that it will be helpful to other Defy owners conscious about their data privacy.
WHAT IT DOES:
• More than just blocking apps Android permissions, it lets you control each individual app’s access to private information (user + system);
• It allows you to block and, in some cases, let you either use random or custom private data;
• It will also (if desired) warn you on any root or privacy info access, all that with an easy to figure out and use user interface [see pics];
• And best of all, applications will not crash when their access to private data is blocked unlike with Permission Denied (using LBE Privacy or alike or with CM7).
Disclaimer: I’m only the messenger and I take no credit or responsibility for anything that you’ll do with your phone from here on.
HOW TO:
Original thread by the dev [go have a read and give your thanks to svyat]
Pre-requisites:
- Make sure that you did not use Titanium Backup to integrate sys Dalvik into the rom [if you don’t know what that means, chances are that you didn’t; ignore it];
- a PC running Windows;
- a CM7-jordan/Jordan-plus build;
- PDroid patcher v1.31 (v1.27 also work but the latest version (v1.32) from the link above doesn’t work for the Defy. So I’m attaching v1.31 here which I’ve found with a little digging through that thread;
- the PDroid.apk itself [Market link] or [Dropbox link from the dev];
=> If you don’t have access to a PC running Windows or just don’t want to go through the trouble of patching process described below, you can head over to measel’s CM7 nightlys | info collection thread and locate the build you are using; he was kind enough to provide us with patches for most of recent Jordan builds. So go and grab your applicable patches and give thanks to him.
=> If you’re running CM9 or CM10, this patcher will not work for you, but there are alternatives - namely: the ‘auto-patcher’ or even the PDroid v2 [I’ll give links to those later]. Just go read the last few pages of the original thread, there are quite a few mentions/redirections to those over there. [please don’t ask me about questions about those as I did not try them just yet]
Note: PDroid is an ongoing but currently ‘on hold’ project [because, like someone said before: devs sometimes have a life outside Android...] which works perfectly fine as it is if you follow the next few steps below.
Zero off: Make a nandroid backup of your current phone setup.
First off: Create the patch for your rom:
To work, PDroid first needs you to mod 3 framework files and push them onto your phone. To do so, all you need to do is to execute the PDroidPatcher.exe. file [extract it from the zip attached] and point it to the CM7 build you are using. Let it do its thing and it will create a CWM recovery flashable zip and an undo (RESTORE) one.
Second: Flash the patch:
Just boot into recovery, wipe cache and dalvik and install the patch and boot up.
Third: Install the apk
That’s it!, you’re now ready to go your list of installed apps and start controlling your privacy accesses.
Warning: again, go read the original thread for a how to on how to backup your PDroid settings and/or use TB to do so.
HOW TO USE:
Well, it’s all pretty obvious and with a bit of common sense, you will easily figure out how and what to set up. By default, nothing is blocked and apps are free to access data. So you’ll have to go through your list of installed apps and set up each individual data access and then try them out. For example, logic would tell us not to block the ‘GPS/Network Location’ data to maps related apps nor block ‘Accounts credentials’ to apps dealing with user IDs and passwords like Email or social apps.
I can’t give you detailed instructions here (it’s not the point of this thread anyway), but if like me you already use Droidwall, you can first leave alone all the apps that you’ve black listed for internet access [pic 2] since they won’t do anything with your private data if they can’t send it back home… There is also an option within the app to ‘hide all the safe apps’ [which do not have an internet permission]; check it to reduce the size of your list of apps to configure.
From experience, I’d also suggest you to keep an eye on the apps requiring a password to run since blocking Device or Subscriber ID might mean that you’ll have to always enter passwords each time you run the app that would otherwise be remembered by those apps. As a rule of thumb, I pretty much choose the ‘use random’ option whenever it is available (just to minimize problems with the app on blocking completely – I’m not even sure this is a valid argument here…) or block everything else when it’s not and finally, I leave ‘Network Info’ allowed since it basically only lets apps know if you connected to internet or not [who cares if they get your wifi’s SSID or not…].
But again, you’ll have to fine tune the whole thing for each and every app and run them to check for full functionalities – but at least they won’t crash on you… Finally, you can pinpoint potential problems/solutions by turning off the general PDroid notifications option and by turning on a specific app’s ones [pic 3].
Happy privacy enhancement!
/AL
As usual!
Quality guides from lovely []AL[]
I don't want a tapatalk sig!
nogoodusername said:
As usual!
Quality guides for lovely []AL[]
Why not move to Android Apps forums?
I don't want a tapatalk sig!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"lovely AL" wow! you surely are the first person to tell me anything like this here on xda.
..not sure if I should be flattered or run away by homophobia - hehehe! :laugh:
Well, I didn't mean to make it a guide when I started writing it, but like always I had things
to say and the post got longer and longer.. so I guess that we can call it a sort of guide...
But I truly like the app and believe that along with Droidwall, that should be installed on every phone.
In fact, Google should look at this and incorporate something similar into Android.
OK, I'll go reply to your PM now... cheers!
Edit for your question: because like I wrote in the OP, I'm just the messenger and not the dev of the app.
The app also works mostly for on phones running CM7 and even not all the phones support it either.
So I wouldn't publish this widely without at least asking permission to the dev. But here for Defy owners fellows,
I know it works fine and again, I think that it is pretty much an essential app to have.
9 downloads/1 thank;
Leeches, I see leeches everywhere!
Shhhiiiiii- You got me excited! I thought I'd find a patch for the Quarx rom! So far auto-patcher can't patch Quarx's CM10 roms. Nor do I understand why that's so but that's why I'm not a dev.
Excellent app
Arch Linux User ..
KicknGuitar said:
Shhhiiiiii- You got me excited! I thought I'd find a patch for the Quarx rom! So far auto-patcher can't patch Quarx's CM10 roms. Nor do I understand why that's so but that's why I'm not a dev.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... sorry to hear that; I had no clue that it doesn't work with Quarx CM10. It seems to work for some other JB builds/phones... But like I wrote on the OP, I haven't tried any of this on CM9/JB yet. So again, too bad that this thing is a no go for now. I hear that Quarx is very busy outside Android's world as of lately so it might not be a good time to ask him about this - might also be low on his priority...but who knows, someone might read this and find an answer for you.
ps: quite an avatar you got there :silly:
an thanks for the link to the auto-patcher thread; it might be useful to others and it'll save me the search when I update the OP with it and your comment eventually...
juan296 said:
Excellent app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thanks but again, just I'm just a messenger here and not the dev... :highfive:
Actually, I use DroidWall , so.. can uninstall this app? And right now, JUST USE pdroid! Right?
Arch Linux User ..
juan296 said:
Actually, I use DroidWall , so.. can uninstall this app? And right now, JUST USE pdroid! Right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still use both...they are quite different apps and don't do the same at all. Droidwall is a firewall that let you control if an app has access to internet or not; PDroid controls what private information each app can access.
Like I wrote on the OP, any app that is blocked by Droidwall doesn't need a PDroid setup, but apps that need internet connection could be free to get private information from your phone if you don't use PDroid...
Basically, PDroid has no way of blocking all internet access; it only blocks apps from reading private info (or scrambles it by returning info like random network location or sim ID#...)
Tonight i showed installing CyanogenMod on my Galaxy S4 live at a cryptoparty.
After reboot, the device showed up with exactly all that Google bull**** i wanted to get rid of - and i still can't uninstall it!
I really wonder:
Where is that ROM project that claims to allow for a Google-free experience?
I mean a real FOSS ecosystem. One that can be secured from sinister interests.
Those CyanogenMod guys, however, have ultimately lost my trust tonight.
Any hints, out there?
blausand said:
Tonight i showed installing CyanogenMod on my Galaxy S4 live at a cryptoparty.
After reboot, the device showed up with exactly all that Google bull**** i wanted to get rid of - and i still can't uninstall it!
I really wonder:
Where is that ROM project that claims to allow for a Google-free experience?
I mean a real FOSS ecosystem. One that can be secured from sinister interests.
Those CyanogenMod guys, however, have ultimately lost my trust tonight.
Any hints, out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would CyanogenMod have lost your trust? CM does not come with proprietary Gapps included. What is in the package is very clear and spelled out. But the % of people that prefer their phone sprinkled with Google goodness far outweigh the % of people who feel the need to be so secure that they have to partially neuter the functionality of the phone in some form or another. Anyway, you can check out the NoGapps project here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/sho...tmctr=(not provided)&__utmv=-&__utmk=34876962
Is CM11 just missing a switch to keep the GApps of the former ROM or drop them?
es0tericcha0s said:
Why would CyanogenMod have lost your trust? CM does not come with proprietary Gapps included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, then explain what i find in my Harddrive: (see attachment).
I haven't figured out yet why these GApps persistently stay on my phone no matter how often i wipe /cache and /system and reinstall CM, but i do guess something has changed in their policy.
Maybe it's just a missing switch that should ask me if i want to keep them or drop them?
What bothers me even more, is that i can't uninstall GApps. I can just deactivate them, where what i seek is pure absence of code. Operating virginity fu(king system.
And what makes me lose trust in CM is that, coming with the commercialisation, this windows installer comes up with this clean black box window that just says "downloading" or "installing" for ages, leaving me without any clue about what is currently transferred - and in what direction.
"Theoretically, the CyanogenMod installer could easily have uploaded literally every bit of my private data off my phone within that time."I guess everybody would feel a lot better if the installer eats the good old .zip i feed it, or at least reports which one it is downloading and at what bandwidth or percentage.
es0tericcha0s said:
Anyway, you can check out the NoGapps project…
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that, man. It's so refreshing to learn about these little steps in the right direction. Will definitely support them!
I much prefer to just download the roms myself vs. using an installer. That would eliminate the "What is it doing??" issue. http://download.cyanogenmod.org/ - I didn't know which version of the S4 you have, so couldn't be more specific. The only time Gapps should be persistent across wipes (though shouldn't happen if you wipe the system...) is when the Gapps you are using also includes a script to save the Gapps across updates. Look in your /system/etc/init.d folder and see if you have any scripts in there you don't recognize or say something about Gapps. CM does come with a few of the open source Google apps included like Voice Search and such. But you can uninstall the apps that you do not want with a file manager that has root access or a system app remover app like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp You can also remove unwanted apps BEFORE you install if you have the rom zip on your PC combined with a PC app like 7zip that will allow you to open as an archive (regularly unzipping with break the signature of the rom) and deleting the apps from /system/app before you flash.
Keep in mind that disabling will typically be better than uninstalling the app because the end result is the same : not in the app drawer, not able to run, can't use CPU processes, etc. but if you do decide you need it, it is easy to enable, reboot, and use the app again. Removing the apps from /system does not give your phone more usable space for other apps or anything like that since the apps we install get put into /data/app not /system/app whose partitions are already set. Now, you can throw apps from /data/app into /system/app and save some space like that, but you have to give those apps the right permissions as well as some do not like to update properly when there.
Other alternatives include seeing if there is a solid AOSP build for your version of the S4 and use the NoGapps project, or to learn how to dev yourself.
Currently, CyanogenMod helps google to maintain a trap
Again i appreciate your words, es0tericcha0s.
As described before, these scripts work for Google, making their Apps happily survive any attempts to really wipe my own phone.
Today's stock ROMs contain bloatware and spyware, which every proprietary component with root privileges must be considered to be.
Rather than saving memory or improving performance, my goal is to teach to as many "normal" people as possible an easy way to setup trustible alternatives.
I know everything can be accomplished in a root shell, but the way out of this observation hell must be prepared for the masses now.
Starting with Dominik Schürmann's article about An Android without Google i will continue focussing on Replicant.
"As soon as Cyanogen and his team offer a simple exit door to the trap they currently help Google to maintain, i shall be in peace with them again."
blausand said:
Again i appreciate your words, es0tericcha0s.
As described before, these scripts work for Google, making their Apps happily survive any attempts to really wipe my own phone.
Today's stock ROMs contain bloatware and spyware, which every proprietary component with root privileges must be considered to be.
Rather than saving memory or improving performance, my goal is to teach to as many "normal" people as possible an easy way to setup trustible alternatives.
I know everything can be accomplished in a root shell, but the way out of this observation hell must be prepared for the masses now.
Starting with Dominik Schürmann's article about An Android without Google i will continue focussing on Replicant.
"As soon as Cyanogen and his team offer a simple exit door to the trap they currently help Google to maintain, i shall be in peace with them again."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I'm certain that the scripts that keep the apps are from the developers, and not Google themselves since they aren't the ones who bundle the Gapps for our use with roms, and that script to keep them across flashing is helpful to more people as is often requested to make it easier to update the rom without a complete reflash.
Ah, I forgot about the Replicant program. I had seen it pop up before but couldn't remember the name. I do a lot of android modding at my shop and it's just something that no one ever asks me to do, so never really bothered to get that far into it. People who know about it are typically gonna be able to do it themselves and the ones that don't know often are not the type of people wanting to relearn how to use their phone. I just weigh the pros and cons for Google's oversight of my phone vs not using some of my favorite Google apps easily like Maps and Gmail and the pros of Google win every time, for me. Luckily there are alternatives though as that is what keeps things moving along. I triple boot with Ubuntu Touch and FireFox OS on my Nexus 5, so it's not like I am against alternatives at all.
You could go full out security geek style and rock this: http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/24/5441642/blackphone-silent-circle-geeksphone-pre-order-launch
Peace after all. A short apology.
Since i tampered quite a bit about cyanogenMod in this thread, i should at least tell how i finally got rid of GApps.
I installed OmniROM just to learn that it's wizard leads me into even wilder Google service agreements than CM did.
(So, unfortunately, i haven't seen and felt it at all )
After that, just out of sheer curiousity, i went into the "advanced" menu of the ClockworkMod bootloader. Surprisingly, the wellknown "clear dalvik cache" was hidden there. So i did and also installed CM over, restarted, earned an endless loop in the Cyanogen Account wizard, did "wipe data /reset", installed CM once more, and finally rebootet into a virgin CM that seemingly didn't contain any GApps anymore.
So, in fact i thank everybody who contributes to a better smart phone experience and of course the community behind what is now venturing as "CyanogenMod". Always remember:
"Don't be evil!"
blausand said:
Since i tampered quite a bit about cyanogenMod in this thread, i should at least tell how i finally got rid of GApps.
I installed OmniROM just to learn that it's wizard leads me into even wilder Google service agreements than CM did.
(So, unfortunately, i haven't seen and felt it at all )
After that, just out of sheer curiousity, i went into the "advanced" menu of the ClockworkMod bootloader. Surprisingly, the wellknown "clear dalvik cache" was hidden there. So i did and also installed CM over, restarted, earned an endless loop in the Cyanogen Account wizard, did "wipe data /reset", installed CM once more, and finally rebootet into a virgin CM that seemingly didn't contain any GApps anymore.
So, in fact i thank everybody who contributes to a better smart phone experience and of course the community behind what is now venturing as "CyanogenMod". Always remember:
"Don't be evil!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just another reason I prefer TWRP recovery as it has the dalvik cache in the regular Wipe menu.
If you don't want any Google stuff on your phone don't have an android or flash a completely different os, cyanogen, omni or just about any ROM in this forum will be based off Google. You can probably flash pure Debian but that won't do you much good if you want to use it as a phone. So youre stuck with hoping someone ported Firefox os or Jolla or Ubuntu touch or whatever.
Your other option would be getting something akin to pdroid or imbed some framework spoofing, some of which may be done for you if you look into your device forum.
But compiling about cyanogen or any other custom ROM is silly as not one of them claim to be Google free or even suggest it, and not installing gapps won't mean there is no Google 'stuff' as its still running android
Best of luck in your endeavors
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Android withour Google: Pdroid permission control.
demkantor said:
If you don't want any Google stuff on your phone don't have an android or flash a completely different os, cyanogen, omni or just about any ROM in this forum will be based off Google. (...)
Your other option would be getting something akin to pdroid or imbed some framework spoofing (...)
But compiling about cyanogen or any other custom ROM is silly as not one of them claim to be Google free or even suggest it, and not installing gapps won't mean there is no Google 'stuff' as its still running android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for commenting.
I was thinking that Google's initial contribution to android is both open source and promised to stay away from google's servers. Am i wrong with that?
I've never tried Pdroid. To be honest, the approach shows clearly how conceptually failing the whole perrmission system of android is. And since it is so crucial to the architecture of android, i guess in the next 2 years the real long term killer mobile OS will appear.
I'm also writing this because cyanogenMod is driving me crazy with some bugs and shortcomings, and today i checked the Replicant website and nothing has changed since march.
http://www.cnet.com/news/firefox-os...web-gaming/?part=propeller&subj=news&tag=link
Maybe Firefox OS will become what you want, my guess is that a couple more years and it will work out the kinks and those with a dislike of apple Google and Microsoft will have another choice. Well also jolla looks promising
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I noticed that since 5.1.1 or (sometime around it's release) when I download an apk or an update from playstore, I am shown a list of service, broadcast receiver, activities, etc. with toggles. I am not sure if this is a result of one of the apps I have installed (like cm security, my android tools, amplify) or if it is just a new policy on google play. Anyone else see this? Is there a guideline as to what if any can be toggled and why I should/ should not mess with it. I've been reluctant to mess with anything up until now b/c I am not sure what this is. Can anyone direct me to a guideline thread or shed some light on it for me? Thanks in advance.
I've included some pictures of what I'm describing from a recent Dolphin upgrade from playstore.
tmord1 said:
I noticed that since 5.1.1 or (sometime around it's release) when I download an apk or an update from playstore, I am shown a list of service, broadcast receiver, activities, etc. with toggles. I am not sure if this is a result of one of the apps I have installed (like cm security, my android tools, amplify) or if it is just a new policy on google play. Anyone else see this? Is there a guideline as to what if any can be toggled and why I should/ should not mess with it. I've been reluctant to mess with anything up until now b/c I am not sure what this is. Can anyone direct me to a guideline thread or shed some light on it for me? Thanks in advance.
I've included some pictures of what I'm describing from a recent Dolphin upgrade from playstore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
someone can correct me if im wrong, but i believe i read somewhere thats some new features to help make users more aware of the permissions they agree to in more detail.
i dont recall it mentioning as in depth as the receivers, but it may have. for the most part, you really dont want to mess with those, otherwise the app could partially or completely stop working properly.
what you can and cant turn off is really going to be a case by case basis. i have tried doing some of that before, and tbh, its generally not worth the effort it takes to figure it all out. the battery gains are usually minimal to non existent. only thing some what useful is disabling the ad servers.
your really better off not touching any of those, unless you have a rogue issue you are trying to rectify.
tmord1 said:
I noticed that since 5.1.1 or (sometime around it's release) when I download an apk or an update from playstore, I am shown a list of service, broadcast receiver, activities, etc. with toggles. I am not sure if this is a result of one of the apps I have installed (like cm security, my android tools, amplify) or if it is just a new policy on google play. Anyone else see this? Is there a guideline as to what if any can be toggled and why I should/ should not mess with it. I've been reluctant to mess with anything up until now b/c I am not sure what this is. Can anyone direct me to a guideline thread or shed some light on it for me? Thanks in advance.
I've included some pictures of what I'm describing from a recent Dolphin upgrade from playstore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not sending your screenshots to [email protected] for help? Seeking support from Dolphin is much more time saving.
surviveland said:
Why not sending your screenshots to [email protected] for help? Seeking support from Dolphin is much more time saving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was just an example, it does that for all apps downloaded from Google play. Apparently, it is to disclose permissions required by apps more thoroughly. At the time that it I posted, it was a relatively new feature and I was wondering about it.
Hi,
In this thread or post we will discuss the option that we have to deal with Sony Sketch App.
We all know that the app was terminated since it wasn't doing good profit wise, therefore it was shut down, we will not discuss how to export the data, since this option is not longer available anymore, since Sony had given their users six months to do so.
Now, the question is as the following: (If anyone can answer them that would be cool)
How to extract the downloaded STICKERS from the app?
&
How to download the list of the stickers online if they are available?
&
How to download any other stickers or icons online and use them within the app?
&
What is the format of the stickers used within the app?
In my Twitter account @MedoHamdani an image of the full list of the stickers. If anyone can recreate them, please do let me know. If anyone know where to find them in the phone, please do let me know so they can be extracted and shared with the community.
There is another app called Sketch United by one of the previous developer called Carl (This info not confirmed yet), but it is not similar to Sony Sketch app at all and doesn't have the stickers function.
Thanks
Medo Hamdani
Hi,
MedoHamdani said:
How to extract the downloaded STICKERS from the app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stickers are located in (complete path from root folder)
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/files/content/stickers
However, you need root access to see the files and eventually add/import another stickers.
Also, the stickers won't show-up in the app until they are registered also within 'content-packs.db' SQLite database.
Database location
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/databases
By copying all the stickers files and replacing the content-packs.* database files, I was able to transfer all my stickers to another phone. Also, file permissions must be set properly (chmod 777, recursively), otherwise you'll actually see a scrollable list of stickers, but everything blank, just blank thumbnails, as the app prepares buttons for them based on the database of downloaded content, but then cannot access them due to bad permissions set on the individual files.
Sadly, I don't have complete pack of stickers, but I'll share them anyway: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13VPrjQeLhOiUi7BoOe-znNNT6bP_xq6-?usp=sharing
(compatible with 9.0.T.0.6 and 9.0.A.0.6)
For a non-root users is eventually possible to use built-in Backup & Restore feature found e.g. on LG or Asus phones, which can import/export complete apps INCLUDING data, not just APK file alone. This way I was able to actually extract the Stickers from my non-rooted LG G6 and import them to a rooted Asus ZenFone 2.
Unfortunately, the export files are not in standardized format across manufacturers, and so one rooted device from every smartphone brand with such Backup & Restore functionality would be needed to cover most non-rooted users. Plus, the exported package often contain various personal information, e.g. I found bits and pieces of photo (?) metadata with text geographical locations included, despite I unchecked all but the one single Sketch app for making the backup. And so while it might be a solution for a non-rooted phones, it might hardly be the preferred one.
MedoHamdani said:
What is the format of the stickers used within the app?
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Click to collapse
PNG
nfsmaniac said:
Hi,
Stickers are located in (complete path from root folder)
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/files/content/stickers
However, you need root access to see the files and eventually add/import another stickers.
Also, the stickers won't show-up in the app until they are registered also within 'content-packs.db' SQLite database.
Database location
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/databases
By copying all the stickers files and replacing the content-packs.* database files, I was able to transfer all my stickers to another phone. Also, file permissions must be set properly (chmod 777, recursively), otherwise you'll actually see a scrollable list of stickers, but everything blank, just blank thumbnails, as the app prepares buttons for them based on the database of downloaded content, but then cannot access them due to bad permissions set on the individual files.
Sadly, I don't have complete pack of stickers, but I'll share them anyway: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13VPrjQeLhOiUi7BoOe-znNNT6bP_xq6-?usp=sharing
(compatible with 9.0.T.0.6 and 9.0.A.0.6)
For a non-root users is eventually possible to use built-in Backup & Restore feature found e.g. on LG or Asus phones, which can import/export complete apps INCLUDING data, not just APK file alone. This way I was able to actually extract the Stickers from my non-rooted LG G6 and import them to a rooted Asus ZenFone 2.
Unfortunately, the export files are not in standardized format across manufacturers, and so one rooted device from every smartphone brand with such Backup & Restore functionality would be needed to cover most non-rooted users. Plus, the exported package often contain various personal information, e.g. I found bits and pieces of photo (?) metadata with text geographical locations included, despite I unchecked all but the one single Sketch app for making the backup. And so while it might be a solution for a non-rooted phones, it might hardly be the preferred one.
PNG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your detailed answer, if you have done this process and recorded it in a video that would be helpful. Thanks much
By the way, do you know any other app that does the same thing?
MedoHamdani said:
By the way, do you know any other app that does the same thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some apps like Titanium Backup for making apps backup/restore, but you need root for all of them. Otherwise you need to rely on your phone manufacturer whether he included some proprietary app for this AND whether the format is not any encrypted and if there are tools available to extract the backup file.
E.g. me, on LG's backup I used this great tool to extract it: https://github.com/Mysak0CZ/LBFtool
Okay, first of all let me ask you few questions:
Do you have complete pack of stickers that have been ever available?
What phone do you have? Is it rooted or not?
In case you have root, extraction of Stickers will be a lot easier.
Just navigate inside some file manager like Root Explorer or Total Commander to
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/files/content/stickers
and make backup (create archive, ZIP), of all of its content.
Additionaly copy also these two or three files (first one is the most important and should be common, last two ones varies by device)
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/databases/content-packs.db
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/databases/content-packs.db-shm
/data/data/com.sonymobile.sketch/databases/content-packs.db-journal
Then you can share them and I'll eventually try to get our two collections together to create bigger collection, closer to be complete, in case you don't have complete pack of Stickers.
In case you DON'T have rooted phone, I would ask you for details about your phone first. I can do a guide of what I have, but procedure might be different on your device.
Here is video how it looks on LG, something very similar I've seen on older Asus phones (at Android 5) also.
I've made backup to microSD card, unticked all options and ticked only Sony Sketch app (within "Downloaded apps" section) to be included in the backup.
Hi,
The answer to these questions:
Do you have a complete pack of stickers that have been ever available?
Well, not all of them but most of them, that was one of the reasons that the phone was not sold or formatted.
What phone do you have? Is it rooted or not?
Samsung Galaxy Fan Edition, and it is not rooted, but willing to undergo the process of rooting.
Is there any app that is similar to Sony Sketch, or can we make another one using Adalo?
@MedoHamdani Personally I am lacking real alternative to Sony Sketch. It was lightweight and intuitive app, simple but powerful. And particualary the Stickers were good here. Lack of serious alternative that wouldn't be full of crappy bloat and ads is the reason why I am willing to spend time on this abandoned app.
I've looked into internals of the Sketch app and while I have zero experience with Android apps modding, it seems to be surprisingly clean and understandable code to me.
Chances are I could be able to just embedd the stickers into the base APK file, the same way how there already is the basic set of Stickers included in the app. I believe that even custom fonts might be possible to add.
Sadly, not always are things as simple as they might seem to be. But i will try it.
Anyway I do appreciate the fact you've kept them in archive and have the will to root your phone.
In case of any difficulties, feel free to reach me out or other members in appropriate forum section dedicated to your device.
Please, try to make a backup of the Sony Sketch app first just in case of any failure (or data loss) during the procedure of rooting your phone, so you'd be able to restore the app back to yours (or another) Samsung phone.
Thank you and good luck!
nfsmaniac said:
@MedoHamdani Personally I am lacking real alternative to Sony Sketch. It was lightweight and intuitive app, simple but powerful. And particualary the Stickers were good here. Lack of serious alternative that wouldn't be full of crappy bloat and ads is the reason why I am willing to spend time on this abandoned app.
I've looked into internals of the Sketch app and while I have zero experience with Android apps modding, it seems to be surprisingly clean and understandable code to me.
Chances are I could be able to just embedd the stickers into the base APK file, the same way how there already is the basic set of Stickers included in the app. I believe that even custom fonts might be possible to add.
Sadly, not always are things as simple as they might seem to be. But i will try it.
Anyway I do appreciate the fact you've kept them in archive and have the will to root your phone.
In case of any difficulties, feel free to reach me out or other members in appropriate forum section dedicated to your device.
Please, try to make a backup of the Sony Sketch app first just in case of any failure (or data loss) during the procedure of rooting your phone, so you'd be able to restore the app back to yours (or another) Samsung phone.
Thank you and good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your extensive detailed reply.
Guess we can form a team who are willing to voluntarily make the app possible. We can use Adalo which is a platform where we can create apps without coding.
If possible will schedule an online meeting using Google Meet so we can back up the phone and root it. Let me know if you are in.
Just imagine if we manage to launch the app after a year from now, since it already has its reputation we can get up to 100,000 downloads.
Please do let me know what software is needed for the backup and the roots.
Cheers,
Medo Hamdani
Dear @MedoHamdani,
I doubt that a sketching app with any practical value can be made using Adalo or any other platform claiming "no coding needed".
I heavily doubt we can just extract stickers we own no rights to and use them in any of our apps that will be publicly distributed somewhere or even sold, as it could be considered as illegal and we would break the rules of XDA forum and laws in your and my country too.
At most we can slightly modify the original application and distribute it with its no-longer available online content. Or create a whole new app with our own stickers and other content.
Perhaps we should move to a private messages if you'd like to discuss it any more in this manner.
You haven't provided exact model of your phone, so I can't point you to any forum thread.
Maybe you should let rooting of your phone on someone more experienced. Or if you have some older or cheaper Samsung phone, definitely try Samsung Smart Switch if it will work for transferring of Sony Sketch's data & stickers.
There is many video guides and it can be done even wirelessly.
Then you can play around with rooting while having a lower harm in case of failure during making a root.
While I can share your enthusiasm, I'd prefer other option to some video meeting currently, I see it as it's kind of early for doing such activity. I hope you understand.
nfsmaniac said:
Dear @MedoHamdani,
I doubt that a sketching app with any practical value can be made using Adalo or any other platform claiming "no coding needed".
I heavily doubt we can just extract stickers we own no rights to and use them in any of our apps that will be publicly distributed somewhere or even sold, as it could be considered as illegal and we would break the rules of XDA forum and laws in your and my country too.
At most we can slightly modify the original application and distribute it with its no-longer available online content. Or create a whole new app with our own stickers and other content.
Perhaps we should move to a private messages if you'd like to discuss it any more in this manner.
You haven't provided exact model of your phone, so I can't point you to any forum thread.
Maybe you should let rooting of your phone on someone more experienced. Or if you have some older or cheaper Samsung phone, definitely try Samsung Smart Switch if it will work for transferring of Sony Sketch's data & stickers.
There is many video guides and it can be done even wirelessly.
Then you can play around with rooting while having a lower harm in case of failure during making a root.
While I can share your enthusiasm, I'd prefer other option to some video meeting currently, I see it as it's kind of early for doing such activity. I hope you understand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright let's do this, you are right we can't simply make the whole app with no code platform. point noted.
However, we can extract them then modify them then publish them. ( we might require some volunteers to assist us)
We can move to private messages as well for sure.
The exact model should be Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition.
Model Number: SM-N935F/DS
Android version: 9
Previously there was an APK file called King Root that does the job, it was used once on a Lenovo phone, however, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Regarding the video meeting, we can disregard it, that should be fine.
How about creating a backup on the PC instead of getting another phone?!
Thanks much for your help,
We will get these stickers out sooner or later.
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